


In This Weather?

by CaptainErica



Category: Big Bang (Band), K-pop
Genre: BaeRi, Christmas, Classy Seungri, M/M, yb being yb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 00:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9523736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainErica/pseuds/CaptainErica
Summary: Youngbae is going to prove Jiyong and Seunghyun wrong. Without a doubt, they are 100% incorrect, and he can prove it.Seungri's pretty certain the cute guy from upstairs is going to hurt himself if he keeps this up.





	1. You're Putting Lights up Now?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very late Christmas fic, but it's cute, and I'll probably forget about it next year...so up it goes ^^ Enjoy Seungri trying to be classy!

 

If he took the time to think about it, this was all Seunghyun’s fault, and by extension Jiyong’s. Everything from the dangling lights to the pain in his back and legs and especially the fact that he was lying on the snow-covered ground. He winces as he hears a door open and close, and forces himself to consider what got him to this point.

~

*The night before*

“Have you decorated your apartment yet?” Jiyong asks, leaning forward to steal the roll from Youngbae’s plate. They’re at a company dinner, which means that Jiyong is too anxious to manage eating off his own plate like a normal human. It was a weird trait, but one that he’d grown used to in his best friend.

He didn’t really blame him for being so anxious, either. As one of the leading producers, Jiyong had a lot to prove to people at these types of functions: namely that his age meant very little when it came to his talent. He shakes his head and steals Seunghyun’s roll, cutting it neatly in half and spreading butter on it while Jiyong picks his original roll apart with his fingers.

“No, I haven’t.” he mutters. This is a particularly sore topic, but those are the ones that Jiyong likes the most.

Jiyong grabs Youngbae’s fork and spears a piece of broccoli with it. “Why?” He asks, swirling the piece of broccoli in a pool of melted butter and gravy that had collected on one corner of the plate.

“You know why.” Youngbae says softly, trying to keep an edge out of his voice.

Jiyong’s brows knit together and he lifts the fork to point it at Youngbae’s face. Jiyong was already rather close to him, so the gesture has him leaning back to keep the vegetable from touching him. “I know why you _say_ you aren’t putting them up, but there is nothing _physically_ stopping you.” With a firm shake of the fork Jiyong removes it from his face and eats the piece of broccoli off the end.

Youngbae sighs and casts a look over at Seunghyun, hoping for some moral support. The lyricist merely raises an eyebrow and shrugs, causing Youngbae to lose all hope in this battle of wills. “I’m not going to put them up, Jiyong. I can’t do it…it reminds me too much of—“ He doesn’t get to finish because Jiyong slaps a hand onto his shoulder.

“I know you’re still pining, but it’s been a year, and you need to do something to help yourself move on.” Jiyong says, and if it weren’t for the fact that he was squatting in his chair like he was worried about his body touching anything, Youngbae might have really taken the advice to heart.

Unfortunately, Youngbae _can’t_ take Jiyong seriously when he’s sitting like a small child. “It’s just some lights, Jiyong, I’m still celebrating Christmas.”

“You’re punishing yourself.” Jiyong says on a sigh, leaning forward again to stab something with Youngbae’s fork. “You’re not doing anything but making yourself less happy by not decorating for Christmas. You _love_ decorating for Christmas.” He says, and he seems to be getting upset.

“Not as much as _you_ like me decorating, apparently.” He mutters, and Jiyong sighs, dropping the fork and using his now free hand to flick Youngbae in the cheek. Youngbae sighs and picks up the fork, putting whatever Jiyong had speared onto it into his mouth.

“I think you’re scared.” Seunghyun says after a couple of seconds of silence, and Youngbae almost chokes on his mashed potatoes.

“Beg your pardon?” He chokes out, and Seunghyun smirks at him.

“You heard me. You’re scared.” He says, and Youngbae narrows his eyes at him and the challenge presented. “You’re scared that if you put up the lights you won’t actually be reminded of her and you’ll be angry that you’ve wasted your time worrying about it.”

“That’s stupid.” Youngbae scoffs, and Jiyong nods absently.

“I agree,” He says, and Youngbae smiles in triumph, only for that to be ruined only seconds later. “I think that he’s scared that if he puts them up he’ll realize that it’s really over with her and he’ll remember that he did this before he met her, and he can keep doing it now that she’s left.”

The words sting a bit, and Youngbae lowers his eyes to the table as he shoves his plate away from him. He grits his teeth as the silence at the table washes over him, and then he looks up. They are being purposefully cruel, but they are also issuing him a challenge. A challenge that will give him the opportunity to prove them wrong. To prove to them that the holidays would always remind him of her and that he really did love her.

It’s too late to hang up lights when he gets home from the party that night. As he slips into bed, he assures himself that he will do it the next evening when he gets home at a decent time.

~

It’s snowing out.

It had started snowing at around noon, and by 2:00pm there had been enough snow on the ground for Seungri’s boss to decide that there was no reason for them to remain. Seungri’d left quite promptly after that, and so it is that he finds himself standing in the middle of his apartment, wondering where he went wrong in life.

His living room is decorated sparsely but elegantly; it practically screamed money and grace. This was a lucky thing, because those were the two things he was hoping to have his home scream. His Christmas decorations reflected this rather well, and he couldn’t be more proud of himself. All of this, however, does not help the fact that he’s bored and unable to really do much because of the snow. He takes in a deep breath and turns on the stereo, hoping to dance out his boredom

He’s a few hours in when he pauses for some water and realizes how hungry he is.

Seungri is not really one for cooking, and he’s a little disappointed by the fact that because of the snow he probably can’t order in. He lets out a sigh before moving into the kitchen to search for something to eat. He finds very little, and wonders briefly if that makes him less classy than he wants to portray himself as, before he decides that it is _way_ classier to go out to eat. He smiles to himself as he boils some water and makes ramen; the only thing he really knows how to cook.

He considers feeling bad about eating ramen for dinner after such a good work out, but he can’t make himself care too much as he carries a bowl out to his favorite chair by the window. He sits down and lets his mind wander and his eyes wander with it. He is just getting good and comfortable when he hears a soft thump from what sounds like the roof. A couple of seconds later, he sees what seems to be a body fall directly in front of his window. He’s shocked for a couple of seconds, his brain whirring to catch up with the image he’s just seen.

Once it has fully processed he jumps up, placing his bowl on the side table before hurrying over to put his shoes on and head outside. He’s beside the fallen man in moments, and he blinks in surprise as the image of his upstairs neighbor, covered in snow and Christmas lights, registers.

“Are you okay?” He asks, after the shock has worn off. The man hasn’t moved, and his eyes are closed, and Seungri starts to fear for the guy’s life. “Should I call an ambulance?” He whispers frantically, more to himself than to the man before him.

With a groan, the man blinks open his eyes. “Please don’t call an ambulance.” He says, his voice low, and gravelly, and slow. Seungri kneels down beside him and holds out a hand.

“Do you want to sit up?” He asks, but the man shakes his head gently. “Alright, then in that case, why don’t you tell me what you were doing up on the roof in this weather.” His teeth are chattering and his knees are wet along with the majority of his pants by now. It’s freezing cold out and snowing still and he’s kind of starting to feel upset with the man.

“I was putting up lights.” His neighbor mutters, and Seungri wracks his brain trying to remember the man’s name so that he can properly scold him for such ludicrous behavior.

“Why on earth were you putting up lights _now_ of all times?” he asks, huffy and annoyed. The man, Youngbae he thinks he remembers his name being, lets out a shuddering chuckle. “Do you find this funny, _Youngbae_? You could have died, you imbecile.” He mutters, and Youngbae laughs again, but stronger this time.

“It’s funny, really, because I’m only putting them up because I wanted to prove my friends wrong.” Youngbae says, reaching forward to grasp Seungri’s arm and pull himself up into a sitting position.

Seungri rolls his eyes and steadies the man as he moves. “Prove them wrong about what? About how dangerous it is to put up Christmas lights in the middle of a snow storm?” He asks, his eyebrows raised. “Because if that’s the case you proved them right.”

Youngbae shakes his head, winces slightly, and then rather curiously seems to forget to remove his hand from Seungri’s arm. “No, I was trying to prove that the lights _would_ remind me of my ex-girlfriend.” He says, and now it’s Seungri’s turn to laugh.

“You can’t have honestly thought that this would prove anything to anyone.” He says, turning his head to look up at the second-floor apartment. “And you didn’t even get half of them up!” He says, gesturing toward the dangling lights just above Seungri’s living room window.

Youngbae chuckles softly, his eyes following Seungri’s gaze up to the roof. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t really think about what I was trying to accomplish.”

It sounded so ridiculous said like that…as if they were just talking about schedules and not putting up lights in the middle of a storm. “Obviously.” He mutters, and Youngbae turns his head toward him, a lopsided smile on his face.

“Seungri, right?” He asks, and Seungri nods. Youngbae lets out a deep breath and then he shakes his head. “I think I’d like to get out of the snow.”

Seungri makes a big show of rolling his eyes. “About time. I was beginning to wonder if you’d actually hurt yourself.” He mutters, standing up slowly and letting Youngbae pull himself up before holding out a hand to steady him. “Come on, let’s get you inside.” He says softly, directing the shorter man to the front door.

Seungri sees him up to his apartment and then pauses awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs, watching Youngbae shuffle in and shut the door behind him. Youngbae was a very attractive man, and Seungri had always been aware of that fact. He’d never really had occasion to ogle him, but Seungri was definitely aware. He shakes his head to rid himself of those types of thoughts, and then turns toward his own apartment, his right hand absently rubbing his left arm.

He’s re-heating his ramen when he comes to the conclusion that he won’t be able to stop thinking about Youngbae’s hand latched onto his upper arm anytime in the near future. It’s almost upsetting, he thinks, as he dumps his half-eaten bowl back into the pot on the stove. Youngbae is attractive, but apparently still hung up over his ex-girlfriend.

There’s a knock on the door a couple minutes later, and Seungri has to stop wondering what Youngbae’s ex-girlfriend might look like in order to answer it.

“Sorry to disturb you again.” Youngbae says, his eyes fixed on Seungri’s shoulder. Seungri muses that they would probably be fixed on a point above that if he were any taller. “But I just wanted to say thank you and…” He trails off here and pulls a bottle of wine from behind his back. He holds it out in front of him as if he wants Seungri to take it.

Seungri realizes he has the upper hand in this situation, and is very eager to take it. He cocks his head to the side and looks down at Youngbae. “Come on in.” He murmurs, gesturing for him to enter.

~

Youngbae feels really rather stupid. He had intended to put the lights up right after work, but it was snowing so heavily that he had decided that it wasn’t really worth the effort. It should have ended there.

Unfortunately, he had gotten a call from Jiyong just before dinner, mostly because Jiyong wanted to complain about having to cook for himself while his housemate was away for the month, but also because Jiyong wanted to know if Youngbae had decorated yet. Half way through the taunts and Youngbae’s denials, he had slammed down the phone, dragged out the plastic totes that housed his lights, and donned his jacket. When he lost his footing less than a half hour later and tumbled down onto the front yard, his only thoughts had been about whether or not Jiyong would stop harassing him about this now.

He hadn’t expected Seungri to be home. In retrospect, he really should have assumed that Seungri would be home, not that he often thought about his neighbor, really. But being that Seungri was a young and energetic socialite, he was rarely home in the evenings for Youngbae to think about anyway. The snow should have clued him into the possibility that Seungri, like most sane people, would not be out.

Youngbae presses himself against his front door for a moment after closing it behind him, and just leans his head back. The embarrassment of what had happened was only now really making itself known. With a sigh he pushes himself away from the door, kicks off his wet boots, and shuffles off to his bedroom. He needs to change and find a way to thank Seungri; and maybe make himself feel less idiotic in the process.

Once he’s freshly dressed he takes a quick look around his kitchen, his eyes landing on a bottle of expensive wine Seunghyun had given him for his birthday. There was no way he’d drink the wine alone, so he may as well bring it with him as a peace offering to Seungri. He’s knocking on Seungri’s door when he realizes how weird a bottle of wine might be as a thank you for making sure he wasn’t dead on the front lawn.

Seungri opens the door as Youngbae is trying to decide where to discreetly drop the bottle so as not to be forced to show it.

“Sorry to disturb you again.” Youngbae says, fixing his eyes at a point just barely above Seungri’s rather high shoulder. “But I just wanted to say thank you and…” He trails off here, uncertain what else to say as he hadn’t really thought this whole thing through before leaving his apartment. A little belatedly he remembers that he has a bottle of wine in his hand, so he holds it out to show

Seungri looks at him for a second before cocking his head to the side and allowing what Youngbae could only describe as a _cocky_ grin cross his face. “Come on in.” he finally says, gesturing back into his apartment.

Youngbae walks in slowly, toeing off his shoes in the entryway before waiting for Seungri to show him into the apartment proper. Seungri backs away from the door slowly and gently takes the bottle of wine out of Youngbae’s hand.

“What kind is it?” He asks as he walks into the kitchen, and Youngbae internally winces; he has no idea.

“Ah, one of my friends…he’s really into wine…” He pauses for a second, and fights with his impulse to shrug. “He picks all of my wine out.”

Seungri’s mouth tilts up in the corner like a secret smile, and Youngbae decides that he should leave. Unfortunately, Seungri tilts the bottle up to read the label, and Youngbae forgets to move.

“It looks good…too good for you to just be giving away to your neighbor.” He mutters after a thorough perusal of the bottle. Youngbae only barely catches the heavy-lidded glance Seungri spares him before the bottle is placed on the bar and Seungri has turned away.

Youngbae pads closer, making sure to stand on the opposite side of the bar from Seungri. His eyes land on a bubbling pot on the stove, and he loses the fight not interfere. “You’re going to burn your soup.” He says softly, and Seungri turns away from the counter to give him a confused look before he follows Youngbae’s gaze to the stovetop.

With a smile, Seungri leans over and turns off the burner. Youngbae realizes that Seungri had been rummaging through a drawer before he’d interrupted; and now he’s intrigued. It takes only a couple more seconds before Seungri seems to find what he is looking for, and then he’s reaching up into his cupboard and pulling down two wine glasses.

“I’d feel better about accepting this thank you if you drank it with me.” Seungri says, his face a mask of innocent seriousness.

Youngbae doesn’t believe the things those types of faces try to imply.

He accepts a glass of freshly uncorked wine with very little protest, and considers regretting it about an hour and a half later when Seungri has challenged him to a dance battle and they’ve just finished their second bottle of wine.

“Oh come on!” Seungri whines, and Youngbae wonders if the man can really hear himself right now, because it’s nothing like the suave elegance he’d been sporting earlier.

However, Youngbae isn’t very suave at this point either…he does have his limits though. “I’m not going to _battle_ with you. That’s ridiculous.” He scoffs, but Seungri just glowers at him for a moment before ignoring Youngbae’s _obviously superior logic_ and turning on his stereo.

“You’re just afraid I’m better than you.” Seungri says, and Youngbae snorts at the thought, and Seungri throws him an extra glare. “Then why’s it such a problem, s’just dancing.” He grumbles, starting to sway to the beat of whatever song it is that’s playing.

Youngbae considers answering honestly, as it’s normally his default setting. But the honest answer has something to do with Seungri being too adorable and his mind suggesting things that are probably super inappropriate. “You said it was a battle.”

Seungri leans forward and grabs Youngbae’s hands, dragging him out onto the rug where there is space in front of the speakers. “ _You_ said that you were a choreographer.”

Youngbae sighs and stops fighting it; it’s just _dancing_ after all. He dances at work all the time. He dances for Jiyong and Seunghyun and his other friends all the time. He can definitely beat this drunk, cocky, _kid._

~

Seungri regrets very few things in his life, and uncorking that first bottle of wine and pouring Youngbae a glass is not one of them. He does, however, regret all of the alcohol from the second bottle of wine onward.

They’re on the floor by this point, having exhausted both their legs _and_ Seungri’s meager supply of alcohol. Seungri is sitting up with his back against the couch and Youngbae has his head in Seungri’s lap. It feels kind of intimate, except for the persistent buzz in Seungri’s ears and the slight feeling coursing through his consciousness that tells him that if he stands up he’s going to fall down.

“They were right.” Youngbae says suddenly, and Seungri’s hand, which had apparently been combing through the older man’s hair, pauses for a moment.

“Who?” Seungri asks, genuinely confused about who could have been right about anything when they were the only two there.

“Ji and Seunghyun.” He says, as if Seungri has _any_ idea what he’s talking about.

“About what?” He asks, and his mind belatedly tells him not to be an idiot. “About the lights? You shouldn’t put lights up in a snow storm; they were wrong.”

Youngbae chuckles, a deep throaty sound, and Seungri wonders briefly which of them is drunker. “I don’t love her.” He says, his eyes crinkling up into his smile and Seungri smiles down at him.

“Of course you don’t.” Seungri murmurs, brushing his hand through Youngbae’s hair once more.

“No, I thought I did.” Youngbae says urgently, sitting up swiftly to look into Seungri’s eyes. Seungri leans his head back rather more than he had meant to, but his focus is off and Youngbae smells good. “I thought that when she left me everything was over but it wasn’t, it isn’t. I was wrong.” He’s smiling but Seungri doesn’t really care.

“Is she prettier than me?” He asks, and Youngbae blinks slowly, as if he’s really processing the question; as if he’s taking it seriously.

“No.” He says finally, and Seungri lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“As if it were a contest.” He says, as if he really feels arrogant right now, when all he really feels is drowsy, and comfortable, and just a little bit wobbly.

“It isn’t.” Youngbae says softly, and Seungri wonders what he’s thinking.

They are silent for a moment, and Seungri closes his eyes and leans his head back against the couch. He considers lifting his head back up and telling Youngbae that they need to go to bed, when he feels Youngbae move.

“You need to sleep.” Youngbae says softly. He stands up a little unsteadily and proceeds to gently maneuver Seungri up onto the couch. Seungri makes a whine of protest, more because _he’d_ wanted to suggest bed than because Youngbae had moved him, but Youngbae obviously can’t read minds. “Shh, it’s okay.” Youngbae says softly, before leaning down to kiss Seungri on the forehead.

Seungri grabs Youngbae’s shirt and pulls him down onto the couch with him. “You can’t walk upstairs.” He mutters, moving around so that he can hold Youngbae in place.

He hears Youngbae chuckle softly, but he’s already got his eyes closed. “We barely know each other, Ri.” Youngbae murmurs, but it’s too far away, and Seungri feels warm and comfortable and kind of like it’s _okay_ that he had four shots of tequila on top of at least one full bottle of wine.

“That’s fine.” He mutters into Youngbae’s hair.

He’s asleep not long after that.

~

“So, you slept with your cute neighbor and—“

“No, Jiyong, no. We were literally sleeping, stop waggling your eyebrows about the whole thing.” Youngbae finishes on a mutter. He’s terribly hungover and leaning against the counter in his kitchen.

“You can’t even see me, how do you know _what_ I’m doing with my eyebrows.” Jiyong says from the other end of the line, and Youngbae lets out a deep sigh.

“Because I know _you._ ” He mutters, forcing his eyes open so that he can grab his coffee.

Jiyong laughs for a moment, it’s light and uncaring, and then it trails off. “Alright, so maybe I was. But your neighbor _is_ cute, and you didn’t deny that, so I’m not wholly unjustified.”

Youngbae sighs again, shuffling away from the counter with his coffee as he does so. He sits down on his couch and tries to be comfortable. “Whatever.”

“Whatever?” Jiyong repeats, and the tone is a little too chipper for Youngbae’s ears. “Whatever? Youngbae, you haven’t even slept at _my_ place since your break up. This is pretty huge news.”

“I feel like you’re exaggerating, but I can see you’re trying to make a point, so I won’t argue.” Youngbae grumbles, and Jiyong (as he always does) pretends that Youngbae hasn’t spoken.

“But the point really is that Seunghyun and I were right and you owe me an apology for hanging up on me last night.” He says quickly, or maybe it’s his normal rate of speaking, but Youngbae’s head is pounding so he can’t really decide.

“Why do you think you’re right when all that you know of this story is that I got drunk at my neighbor’s after I fell off the roof?” Youngbae says grumpily.

“Because you’re my best friend and I’m always right.” Jiyong says, and Youngbae sighs even more deeply than previously. “Okay, so how did you get out of there this morning? You didn’t sneak out, did you?”

Youngbae shakes his head, remembers that Jiyong can’t see that, and clears his throat. “No, I rolled off the couch and onto the floor and we both woke up.” He starts, and Jiyong lets out a short chuckle. “And then I said I needed to shower and brush my teeth and he stumbled away to do the same and now…”

“And now here we are.” Jiyong finishes for him. “This is better than it could have been. Thank God he was also hungover or your stuttering bashfulness might have put him off of you.”

Youngbae splutters indignantly at that. “I’m not stutteringly bashful.” He exclaims, and Jiyong makes a clucking sound.

“Now, now, don’t want to upset yourself.” He says chidingly, and Youngbae considers driving over to Jiyong’s house to punch him. “But seriously, Youngbae. This is good for you.”

Youngbae closes his eyes and nods. They talk pleasantly after that, and soon he’s off the phone and his headache has lessened enough that he can consider doing something productive: like fixing his lights.

~

Seungri exits the shower feeling like a new man. His head hurts like hell, but if he remembers correctly, then he really isn’t surprised by that. What he _is_ surprised by is the amount of attraction he feels toward his neighbor.

He grabs some medicine for his head and sits down with a mug of tea at the bar. It’s no longer snowing, which he’s pretty thrilled to note, but it looks cold and boring outside and he can’t make himself _want_ to go out. His phone rings, and for the first time in quite a while, he’s not sure he wants to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hey! It’s Daesung!”

Seungri rolls his eyes and leans back. “Hey, what are you up to?” He asks, trying to sound like he definitely isn’t hungover.

“Just checking up on you, making sure you didn’t burn your building down trying to cook something fancy to eat.” Daesung says with a laugh.

Seungri scoffs. “As if I would attempt cooking something complicated.” He says, leaning back and looking at his fingernails. “It’s very not classy.” He adds, and he can almost feel Daesung roll his eyes on the other end.

“Alright, well, I’m heading to the gym now, did you want to join me?”

Seungri considers the offer for a moment, but then he catches sight of movement out on the front lawn, and abandons all pretense. “Nah, I’m going to stay in today, I did a lot of work last night.” He says, a yawn forming as he finishes the sentence.

“Okay! No problem, Ri. See you Monday?”

“Absolutely.” He replies, before quickly hanging up the phone and rushing to the entryway. He shoves his feet into his boots, and goes to jerk on his jacket, before he tells himself to calm down. He takes a deep breath, and slowly resumes putting on the jacket; he couldn’t go out there looking flushed and over-eager! That would most definitely not be classy.

He shoves his hands into his pockets as he leaves the building and very carefully picks his way across the snowy front yard to where Youngbae is standing. He stands there for a couple of seconds, wondering if Youngbae had noticed him or not, before he gets impatient.

“So, contemplating finishing this insanity?” He asks, and Youngbae barely even flinches, which makes Seungri feel a little put out ‘cause maybe he _was_ ignoring him.

Youngbae tilts his head to the side and then back up straight before shaking his head. “No, I was thinking that the lights would look better lower down, you know, closer to the ground.” He turns slightly toward Seungri, who doesn’t seem to understand what he’s trying to say.

“If you put them lower, they will go across your windows.” He says, his mouth curling in disgust. Youngbae chuckles and pulls him closer so that they are standing next to each other.

“I meant that they would look better hanging over your apartment, but if you’d rather I try to hang them up above…” He trails off and returns his gaze to the building. Seungri stares at him for a couple moments, before he pulls himself back together.

“No, they should stay on _your_ half of the building. Too many colors.” He says as haughtily as he can manage. This manages to startle a laugh out of Youngbae, who throws him a grin after a short moment.

“Alright, I’ll finish putting up the lights the way I’d originally intended, then.” He says, and Seungri nods.

“Good, I can’t imagine what kind of damage colored lights would do to my reputation.” He sniffs, and Youngbae shakes his head and throws an arm around Seungri’s shoulders.

Seungri is surprised by the gesture, and finds himself having to lean to the side in order to indulge the shorter man. “Alright, let’s get you out of the cold, your highness, and I’ll get back to my decorating.” Youngbae says with a smile, and Seungri fights the urge to pout.

He’s soon inside with his tablet and a mug of cocoa. He sits himself in front of the front window and lets out a deep breath. For some reason he feels like he will be supremely uncomfortable all afternoon until he knows that Youngbae hasn’t propelled himself off the edge of the roof again.

It’s quarter past four when there is a knock on the door, and Seungri puts down his tablet gently, deciding to take his time. He strolls over and pulls it open, hoping that it is Youngbae, but not quite expecting it to be.

“Since you’re so knowledgeable about such things, I figured I’d ask you to come and assess the lights.” Youngbae says the moment the door opens. Seungri is slightly taken aback, as Youngbae is very casually leaning against the doorframe in a way that he would like to call alluring but would also like to ignore.

“Hmm, I suppose I can inspect your handiwork.” He manages to say, grabbing his coat quickly before brushing past Youngbae and outside.

If he’d looked back at all and seen the light laugh dancing around Youngbae’s face, he doesn’t mention it, and they’re soon standing in the front yard, side by side.

“Well?” Youngbae asks, and Seungri indulges his own ego a bit and decides that the older man sounds a bit worried.

“Hmmm,” He taps his chin with his forefinger while crossing an arm over his chest. He sees Youngbae’s eyes fall into slits from the corner of his own and he suppresses a smile. “I think they’re perfect.” He says, a tone of finality in his voice, and Youngbae lets out a surprised chuckle.

“I’m glad they’ve passed.” He murmurs, and Seungri sucks in a cold breath through his nose and keeps his eyes away: Youngbae is a dangerous kind of attractive.

He’s all the way back in his apartment, awaiting the arrival of his dinner, when he lets himself think about Youngbae again. The older man had been picked up by a friend only a few minutes after Seungri had approved the decorations, and so Seungri had had to go back inside alone. He isn’t upset about this though…he hadn’t really expected to have dinner with Youngbae or anything…

Despite being shorter, Youngbae was far more muscular and broad than Seungri could ever claim to be. He isn’t normally a big fan of introspection or thinking about his feelings, he’s much more into taking life as it comes and saying what’s on his mind, but there is something about Youngbae that makes him want to ponder. He hasn’t had this urge to over-analyze since he was in high school, but he can’t seem to stop.

Youngbae has a handsome face that is well-sculpted, and a short mohawk that Seungri _shouldn’t_ like (on principle) but he _does._ His eyes sparkle when he laughs, and his arms are toned, strong, and beautiful. Seungri closes his eyes and leans his head back so that it is resting on the back of his chair, memories from the night before rolling across his mind.

The older man was a good dancer with far more humility than Seungri had ever seen on anyone, ever. He moved with precision, but you could tell that Youngbae lost himself in the music he was dancing to. It’s beautiful and painful to watch Youngbae dance, Seungri decides, because Youngbae is flawless and gorgeous and definitely just out of reach.

Youngbae is _so_ not Seungri’s type.

He’s too nice, and earnest, and hard-working. Seungri always went for the pretty, but vacant, ones; they were easier to control. Seungri needed control…he _wanted_ control…

But his relationships were always short-lived.

 _Youngbae is hung up on his ex-_ girlfriend _, why would you even have a chance?_ Seungri’s mind is spinning and he sits up forcefully, his eyes snapping open. This is why he doesn’t do introspection. This is why he doesn’t date people he actually, truly likes.

He shakes his head and considers pacing, but is saved from such a plebian act by the sound of his doorbell and his food.

~

“So, that was him, wasn’t it?” Jiyong asks, his hands only gently holding the steering wheel. Youngbae hates it when Jiyong drives.

“Yes.” He says simply, and Jiyong hums in approval. “Where are we going?” he asks, hoping to both distract Jiyong _and_ find out what is happening.

“I want Chinese tonight.” Jiyong says, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as they come to a stop light. “He looked cute. Is he taller than you?” Jiyong asks after a few moments, turning on the blinker and entering the parking lot for his favorite Chinese restaurant.

Youngbae clenches his teeth and then rolls his eyes: distracting Jiyong is impossible. “Yes, he is.”

“Cute? Or taller?” Jiyong asks with a grin as they get out of the car. Youngbae considers punching him, but he’s out of the car first, so Youngbae doesn’t get the chance.

“You didn’t ask me if he was cute.” He points out after catching up, and Jiyong shrugs as he pushes open the door.

“It was implied.” Jiyong responds. They’re seated immediately, and Jiyong pulls his menu toward himself, and starts to skim. Youngbae takes this as a sign that he is off the hook for the moment. He’s wrong. “So, he’s cute, taller, and obviously makes enough money to live in an apartment by himself…” Jiyong starts, and Youngbae audibly groans.

“Ji, really?” He asks, and Jiyong smiles. He looks up from his menu to make eye-contact, and shrugs.

“Yes, really. I want to know.”

Youngbae sighs and runs a hand over his face. “Okay, he’s cute, he’s younger, he’s taller, he’s a dancer.”

“Two of those things were already established.” Jiyong says, his eyes back on his menu as he traces a finger down the selections. “Try again.”

They’re interrupted by their waiter, but Jiyong orders for them both and sooner than Youngbae feels is necessary, all of the focus is back on him.

“Well?”

Youngbae sighs and leans forward on the table, his hands covering his face as he collects his thoughts. “What do you _really_ want me to say, Jiyong?” He asks after a moment, and he hears Jiyong shift in his seat, probably crossing his legs.

“That I was right.” He says, and Youngbae looks up in time to catch the light shrug and small pout Jiyong affects.

He sighs and shakes his head, leaning back in his seat. “What, exactly, are you so sure you were right about?” He crosses his arms after asking, and Jiyong thanks the waiter when he brings them their drinks.

“We’ve already established that you’re over… _her_.” He says, twirling the straw in his drink. Youngbae rolls his eyes.

“You liked her.” He accuses, and Jiyong puts a hand to his chest as if he’s been wounded.

“Of course I did! Until she left you like a rotten sack of potatoes!” He responds.

Youngbae scoffs, but can’t stop a small smile from working its way onto his face. “Okay, yes. I’m over her. It’s been a long time coming.”

“But it’s here now?” Jiyong asks, a smile screwing up the corner of his lips. “Listen, I don’t mean to be so pushy…”

“Yes you do, but continue.” Youngbae interrupts, and Jiyong rolls his eyes.

“Yes, well…I’m just looking out for you.”

“What if I don’t like guys?”

Jiyong actually laughs out loud at that, and Youngbae wonders if he should feel offended. “Sorry, it’s just that,” he pauses here to catch his breath before starting again. “It’s just that it’s so _cute_ that you would even think to say that.”

“Ji.” He says, a note of pleading in his voice.

“Yes, sorry. But really, it doesn’t matter if you think you like guys or not. This ‘Seungri’ kid seems cute, and from the _very little_ that you’ve told me…well, he seems your type entirely.”

Youngbae scoffs at that, but has to refrain from answering for a moment as their dishes arrive. “What, exactly, _is_ my type?” He asks, spearing some chicken on his fork and fixing Jiyong with a look.

Jiyong lets out a world weary sigh and shrugs. “I dunno…tall, artistic…”

Youngbae gives him a flat look. “Those are two very broad traits, Ji, they do not a ‘type’ make.”

“Hm,” Ji says, “Maybe I should meet him to be sure.”

“Why?” Youngbae asks, feeling just a little alarmed and surprisingly not okay with Jiyong meeting Seungri just now.

A self-satisfied smirk floats its way across Jiyong’s face. “Because you like him.” He says, leaning forward. Youngbae controls his face and raises an eyebrow.

“It’s been one day.” He says, and Jiyong shrugs as he leans back again. “Wait until there is something worth interrogating him over.”

Jiyong lets out a rather indelicate snort and the topic shifts away from Youngbae’s love life.


	2. And So it Goes

Seungri makes a concerted effort to forget about his neighbor over the following week. He goes to the gym every morning with Daesung, and he goes out for dinner every evening. On Tuesday he goes on a short business trip and arrives home late, and on Friday he skips out the front door of his office building early; his boss telling him to go and enjoy himself, he’d _earned it_.

And Seungri _had_ earned a nice long weekend. He smiles at the security guard as he passes through the front door, and breathes in the crisp wintery air as he walks briskly to his car. He’d worked extra hard to get all his sales finalized and all of his projects pitched this week; he felt like a superhero.

Leaving work early meant that he could stop off at his favorite café and eat a leisurely lunch while looking out over the city. It also meant that he could look into buying tickets for a show that evening. He’s not sure, he thinks as he pulls out of the driveway and turns onto the main road, if he’s feeling a normal movie or theater. He grins to himself as he pulls into the public parking lot just down the street from the café. He didn’t like going to the theater alone, really, so he’d have to think about who he wanted to come with him.

He twirls his keys around his fingers as he walks, considering his options for the evening. There were a lot of good movies out now, and maybe he had earned a little time to himself…

“Seungri?” a voice asks from just ahead of him. Seungri stops mid-step, blinks, and finds himself looking at Youngbae.

“Oh, hey!” he says, his surprise fading quickly as he fights to act normal.

“You on lunch break?” Youngbae asks, a smile crinkling up his eyes as Seungri catches up with him.

“Out early.” He says with a shrug. “I’m heading in here.” He adds, pointing at the café with practiced nonchalance.

“Oh, me too!” Youngbae says, and it’s cheerful and sweet in a way that Seungri isn’t sure he should associate with Youngbae. “I lost ‘rock, paper, scissors’.” He says conspiratorially as they walk together up to the counter. “So I have to buy lunch today.”

Seungri tries not to laugh, and shakes his head. “You lose a lot, don’t you?” He asks, Youngbae feigns hurt at the implication. “How many people are you ordering for?” he asks, and Youngbae shrugs.

“Two, plus me.” He responds, staring up at the menu board. “You should go ahead, I don’t know what I want, and Jiyong’s orders are always so convoluted that it takes more time than necessary to order.”

Seungri nods, biting his lip as he moves forward to order. Who is _Jiyong?_ It was probably the guy who picked him up on Saturday…but they were obviously close if—

No, he isn’t going to think about Youngbae like that. Seungri shakes his head and returns the smile that the cashier was giving him. “I’ll have the turkey club.” He says, and he feels a little self-conscious about his decision, as if Youngbae would care or had even heard.

He’s already sitting at a table, his meal before him, when Youngbae finishes ordering and comes over. “Took you forever.” Seungri says, his mouth half full of chips.

Youngbae rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t lying when I said that Jiyong makes ordering difficult.”

Seungri contemplates the man for a moment, and they’re both silent. Youngbae had sat down in the chair across from him, and was facing the counter. This position gave Seungri’s eyes free access to the older man’s profile, and he allows himself a couple of seconds to look. Bright-faced and calm, Youngbae was a treat to look at.

A treat that Seungri shouldn’t be caught staring at. “Is Jiyong one of your coworkers?” He asks, deciding that that’s a pretty safe question.

Youngbae takes a second to respond, his eyes still on the counter. “Uh, yeah.” He says, as if he isn’t entirely sure. “We’ve been friends for years, also, but yeah; we work for the same company.”

Seungri nods, sipping at his lemonade. “Must be nice to work with a good friend like that.” He says, keeping his eyes trained on Youngbae’s face. The corner of Youngbae’s mouth quirks up and he turns to face him.

“It can be…but it also means that sometimes work never ends.”

Seungri nods thoughtfully, his eyes straying to the counter, causing Youngbae’s to do the same. “Looks like yours might be up.” Seungri says, and Youngbae throws him a smile.

“Looks it!” He says as he stands up. “It was good to see you.” He adds over his shoulder, and Seungri only barely has enough time to nod in agreement before Youngbae has walked up to the counter and grabbed his food.

He watches Youngbae out the window as he picks up his sandwich to eat. The man walks across the road and into a large building not too far away, and Seungri wonders what exactly it is that Youngbae does. He’s still thinking about it when he gets up to leave, and it’s only driven from his mind when he gets a call from one of his friends.

~

“Who’d you see?” Jiyong asks, popping a crouton into his mouth. Seunghyun looks bewildered for a moment, as Jiyong doesn’t have any croutons in his meal, but then he catches Jiyong reaching for another of his and he slaps the hand away. “Hey!” Jiyong says, as if he hadn’t just been trying to steal from Seunghyun’s plate.

“What do you mean?” Youngbae asks, cutting his sandwich in half and graciously ignoring their tiff.

Jiyong lets out a beleaguered sigh and gives him a look. “You’ve gone all dreamy eyed and far away. Either tell us who you saw or go away since you aren’t contributing anything.”

Youngbae puts a hand over his heart in mock hurt. “I contributed the fine meal that you are currently ignoring in favor of stealing off of my plate.” He says, pulling a piece of bread out of Jiyong’s hand before it can reach his mouth.

Jiyong scowls at him and crosses his arms. “You ran into your neighbor, didn’t you?” He asks, just a touch petulantly.

Youngbae sighs, and pauses with his hand part way to his mouth. “Yes, I did.” The answer done, he allows himself a bite of his food.

“Really?” Jiyong asks, clearly surprised that he had been right. “Wait, where did you see him?”

Youngbae rolls his eyes. “At the café. He was on his way inside right when I was.”

Jiyong looks thrilled by the admission. “Really? That’s so coincidental.” He says, and the tone he uses makes both Youngbae _and_ Seunghyun roll their eyes.

“Stop, it’s not like you could have predicted this, none of us knows where his neighbor works.” Seunghyun says, and Youngbae nods.

Jiyong sniffs disdainfully. “All I’m trying to say is that the boy obviously likes you.”

“Oh, is that _all_.” Youngbae asks, an eyebrow raised. “That’s quite a big thing to decide when you don’t even know him.”

“I bet that he tried all week not to think about you.” Jiyong says, a challenge in his eyes. “and I bet that he was both surprised and pleased to see you. I also bet that he spent the majority of the time you were together at the café staring at you.”

Youngbae sighs loudly and puts his sandwich down. “Ji, listen. Maybe? Okay? You’re not saying anything that isn’t plausible, but you _are_ talking about someone that you don’t know and have never met.” Jiyong’s face falls into a shuttered expression, as if Youngbae had scolded him rather ferociously. “You’re also talking about someone _I_ barely know, okay? I don’t know where this is going, but maybe it will go there a little more smoothly if you stop questioning my every move.”

“Fine.” Jiyong says, and Youngbae takes in a breath and looks around as though he’s about to apologize. “No, you’re right. I just need to step back. I’m prying too much. You do better when you aren’t constantly being questioned…” He trails off, and Youngbae works his jaw a bit, trying to decide how to respond, or if he should respond at all.

“Now that we’re all a little more uncomfortable, let’s finish eating so we can get back to our tight, cramped, and dark work space.” Seunghyun says, and there is silence for a moment before both Jiyong and Youngbae make eye contact and burst into laughter.

~

“I can’t make it to your Christmas party, Hyun. It’s just not possible with the distance and-“

Seungri pauses with his hand on the door handle. He’d just exited his apartment, and was turning to lock it when he’d heard Youngbae’s voice floating down from the top of the stairs.

“I know, I know.” Youngbae says, and he sounds truly apologetic. Seungri fumbles with his keys when he realizes Youngbae has started down the steps. “I work right up to a few days before, and you didn’t give me a heads up…I didn’t know you were having a party this year.”

Seungri takes in a deep breath to steady his hands as he berates himself for eavesdropping. He slips the key into the lock and manages to turn it before Youngbae hits the bottom step.

“I’ll be at Mom and Dad’s for New Year, of course.” He hears Youngbae respond, and he’s even more curious about who Youngbae is speaking with now.

So curious, in fact, that he stops paying attention to his surroundings and misses the handle on the front door when he reaches for it.

He pulls his hand away from the door and shakes it a couple of times to get rid of the pain, and hears a chuckle from behind him. “It’s not funny.” He mutters darkly, which only seems to make Youngbae more amused.

“No, you’re right.” Youngbae says, a smile in his voice that he can’t cover with concern. “How’s your hand then?” He asks, and Seungri glowers at the door, his face surely turning bright red.

“It’s fine.”

“You must have been concentrating really hard on something to have missed the handle like that, huh?” Youngbae asks, grabbing Seungri’s hand to check it while Seungri studiously ignores him.

“Uh, yeah. I have a lot…going on.” He finishes lamely, wondering why Youngbae is touching him.

The thing was, Seungri _didn’t_ want Youngbae to touch him like that…because he didn’t want to think about Youngbae touching him like that…

Youngbae clucks his tongue and gently releases Seungri’s hand. “Be more careful in the future, yeah?” He says, peering up into Seungri’s red face.

“Yeah, dunno what got into me.” He mutters, feeling even more foolish than previously. This isn’t how he acted. He was supposed to be suave and Youngbae was supposed to be the one swooning. _Works better if you weren’t caught being an idiot after eavesdropping…_ His face falls into a scowl and Youngbae tilts his head and leans back.

“Are you okay?” He asks, reaching out to place a hand on Seungri’s arm. Seungri shakes his head to clear his thoughts, and Youngbae nods. “Where you headed?” He asks, and Seungri is glad for the change of subject, because it also comes with Youngbae opening the front door and letting in a blast of cool, December air.

“I’m going grocery shopping.” Seungri says, the cool air already bringing his calm demeanor back. He steps out the open door and turns to wait for Youngbae to do the same. “how about you?”

“Ah, going into work.” Youngbae replies, a little sheepishly. A frown creases across Seungri’s brow as he watches Youngbae step off the small front porch and come to stand beside him.

“It’s Saturday.” Seungri says, hoping it sounded more chiding than idiotic. Youngbae rubs his hand over the back of his neck and lets out a small chuckle.

“Remember how I said working with friends can make work feel like a 24 hour thing?” He asks, and Seungri nods, his mind drifting to lunch the day before. “Well, Jiyong’s in a bit of an overzealous mood, so I’m going in to see if I can keep up with him…or slow him down.”

Seungri keeps his eyes ahead of him, mulling that over for a moment. “What does he do?” He asks, because he does really want to know. _You want to know more about his relationship with Jiyong._

Youngbae shrugs, pulling in a breath. “Ah, Jiyong’s a producer…music, you know?” He says, and Seungri turns to look at him then, because they’re at their cars (and because you like looking at him). “And I write for him, sometimes.” He says, then shrugs. “Mostly I’m choreography and ‘make sure Jiyong goes home at some point this year’.” He says, chuckling a little, hands shoved into pockets as he rocks back onto his heels.

Seungri’s quiet for a moment, thinking about that, then he shakes his head, eyes refocusing. _Be cool, Seungri, calm and classy._ “Well, don’t spend all day working, yeah?” He hears himself say, and he almost adds something else to try and change it, but there’s a look on Youngbae’s face that he can’t really fathom, so he holds back on that.

“Have dinner with me tonight?” Youngbae says, and the sudden blush racing up his cheeks makes Seungri feel a little warmer.

“If you ever manage to leave work…” Seungri says, allowing himself to smirk just a little. “Then yes, dinner tonight.” He says, and Youngbae grins.

“Excellent!” Youngbae says, walking away from him backward as he makes his way to his own car. “I’ll, uh, I’ll stop by, yeah? Around 7?” He asks, and Seungri feels his heart flutter and he can’t even make himself try to push the feeling away.

“Yeah, 7 works for me.” He says, and then he turns and gets into his car, because if he keeps looking at Youngbae right now he’ll have to admit that maybe he’s got a chance; that maybe this is a date.

He can’t afford to let himself think that, though, he muses as he pulls out of the driveway, raising a hand in a slight wave at Youngbae. He can’t think it because Youngbae’s too good for him; too _right_ for him, and maybe…maybe he should talk to someone about this. Maybe Daesung will be able to help him put this all into perspective for him so he can stop thinking the _wrong thoughts._ Because Youngbae isn’t his type. Youngbae is too _good to be true._

After agonizing over whether or not to call Daesung the whole ride to the supermarket, Seungri lets out a sigh and pulls out his phone as he heads inside.

“What’s up?”

“I’ve, ah, created a problem.” Seungri says, grabbing a cart and starting through the store. “And I need you to set me straight.” He adds, and then rolls his eyes at himself.

“That’s unlike you.” Daesung says teasing, and Seungri holds back a whine. _You’re in public, you can’t whine in public_. “What did you do?” He asks, clearly settling in for a long conversation.

Seungri sighs, closes his eyes briefly, and launches in, making sure to avoid speaking too loud lest other shoppers hear him. _This is private business, you’ve a reputation, remember._ He’s finished shopping and sitting in a café next door when Daesung lets out a breath on the other end of the phone.

“Well,” he starts, then clearly decides he’s not sure what to say and pauses for a short moment. “Well, he sounds like he’s exactly your type.” He says finally, “so aside from you being afraid that the relationship will actually _go well for once…_ I’m honestly not sure what you wanted me to tell you.”

“That he absolutely _wasn’t_ my type, and that he’d never like someone like me, anyway?” Seungri responds, almost before Daesung has even finished speaking. “He’s a choreographer, he doesn’t know anything about wine, he _cooks,_ and he uses _colored lights._ ” Seungri says, making a small face of consternation at his coffee cup.

“So maybe you’ll actually eat home-cooked meals and go out dancing and stop getting your pocket squares pressed.” Daesung says, and Seungri refuses to scowl because people might see, so he settles on making the face of consternation again.

“Maybe.” He allows after a moment of silence, and Daesung chuckles.

“I’m not sorry for not being on your side of the argument on this one.” He says, and Seungri sighs loudly, crossing his legs.

“I know.” Seungri says, then looks down at his watch for the time. “I’ll talk to you later, then, I’ve got to get home.”

“Have a good date!” Daesung says cheerfully, and Seungri hangs up without responding.

He’s panicking now, though. Daesung is always honest with him, so maybe he’s right about this. Maybe Youngbae _is_ his type, or more: the type he _should_ be going after.

~

“I was right.” Jiyong says at around noon, and Youngbae looks up from the lyrics Jiyong had asked him to proof to raise a quizzical eyebrow. Jiyong’s not looking at him, but he doesn’t have to wait long for him to continue. “You like him, your neighbor.” He says, and Youngbae feels like he should sigh, but he’s too surprised.

“What?” He asks, sitting up properly and setting down his pen. Jiyong looks up at him now, gauging the reaction, and then sits up as well.

“I wasn’t going to say anything, because you got upset last time.” He starts, and Youngbae levels him with a flat stare, but Jiyong just shrugs; clearly too worn out from his excessive work schedule to do anything else. “ _but_ you do, and I know because you had that look on your face when you came in like everything _went right_ but you didn’t tell me what it was about.” He almost pouts here, and Youngbae has to admit defeat.

“You were busy.” He says, shrugging, and Jiyong rolls his eyes. “Well, you were. But now you’re not so…I asked him to have dinner with me tonight, and he said yes.”

Jiyong looks at him for a few moments, tired eyes and stress-induced frown on his face. “Of _course_ he did.” He says, almost dismissive. “Are you cooking for him, or taking him out?” he asks, ”Because from what you’ve said of him…”

Youngbae runs a hand through his hair, worry crossing his face. “Ah, I don’t know.” He says on an exhale. “He likes fancy meals and expensive things…He doesn’t like my lights because they’re colorful.” He says, frowning a little. And maybe, maybe he’s thinking that he’d been right originally to think that they weren’t really well-matched…

Jiyong lets out an indelicate snort, something he’d only do in the privacy of Youngbae’s company. “Cook something fancy; you’re good at shit like that.” Jiyong says, leaning forward in his chair, one gangly knee in his way because he’s got his feet up like a child. “And he _does_ like your lights, because he likes _you._ ” Jiyong adds, and Youngbae rolls his eyes, but it’s reassuring to hear anyway.

“Alright, one fancy, home-cooked meal coming up.” He mutters, and Jiyong laughs.

“Good, after this song’s finished, yeah? I’ll go shopping with you.” He says, ad Youngbae nods in agreement.

~

Seungri doesn’t see Youngbae pull in, or walk upstairs. In fact, he’s half convinced himself that Youngbae is going to back out of their dinner plans. Their vague plans. _Should you dress up? Of course you should dress up, it’s a date!_

He spends most of his time once he gets home just puttering around his apartment, which is an atrocious word and habit and he hates himself just a little bit for it; Seungri _never_ putters. It’s just _not classy._ Seungri showers, and carefully chooses 8 outfits before discarding them all at 6:30 in favor of staring at his closet in slight distress. _One is never_ openly _distressed, it’s not classy, not sophisticated._

He takes a deep, calming breath, tells himself to relax, and chooses something simple but also stylish. He pulls the clothes on, and himself together, and dallies in his room, so that when 7:00 comes he’s not nervously looking at the door. Because this is strange. He’s never been _truly_ nervous before a date. If he’s being honest, _a bad habit he tends to stay away from,_ it’s because he’s almost always been the one to lead; he sets the dates, picks them up, takes them out…and then lets the relationship stagnate until the other person can’t stand him any longer and ends it.

He looks down at his watch, and notes with alarm that it’s 7:01, and in his room like this he might not hear Youngbae knocking. He takes in another calming breath, and heads out into the hallway, ears pricked for noise. He’s halfway to his kitchen when he hears a knock at the door, and he chances a glance at the clock on his stove: 7:02.

He opens the door after controlling himself, and tilts his head a little, eyes running over Youngbae before him. _He’s always just a touch nervous around you, use that._ “You’re late.” He says, just a little dry, eyes glancing off the watch on Youngbae’s wrist.

Youngbae grins up at him, pleased and handsome and…and he looks _gorgeous_ in nice pants and a button-up in that way that Seungri has always kind of envied: casual elegance. Because Youngbae _definitely_ doesn’t try as hard as Seungri does for that look.

“Ah, only a little bit.” Youngbae says, and he doesn’t look down at his watch, doesn’t even seem to _notice_ that Seungri has done so. “You ready?” He asks, and Seungri shifts his head back out of its tilts and nods, letting his face stay dry and a little aloof.

“Since you asked…” He trails off and Youngbae chuckles before he steps back and holds out an arm, gesturing for Seungri to come out.

Youngbae leads Seungri upstairs, and it’s with a slight jolt to his system that he realizes that means that he gets to see Youngbae’s apartment. He wants it to be _rustic._ He wants Youngbae to be the kind of guy that likes _old_ things; wood and leather. It _feels_ like that’s what Youngbae is, and he’s definitely not disappointed when Youngbae shows him in.

“Your place is nice.” Seungri says, with as much sincerity as he can manage while still keeping his calm exterior. Youngbae smiles up at him, comfortable and confident and _easy._

“Really?” He asks, and there’s an edge of teasing there; _they’ve only really known each other a few weeks, are they_ at _teasing yet?_ “Didn’t think it would be your taste….” He says, trailing off a little as he ushers Seungri to a table, pulling out his chair for him when they get there.

Seungri inclines his head a little, a small blush running high on his cheeks, but he manages to control his voice before he speaks: _squeaking is_ not _classy._ “I can still appreciate it.” He says, cutting himself off before he adds: because it looks like _you_ and I’m pretty certain I like _anything_ that’s like you.

Youngbae chuckles, biting his lip just a little as he looks at him before he pulls a bottle of wine out of a bucket next to the table and tilts it toward him, “drink?” he asks, and Seungri feels his heart start to beat a little faster because this is the kind of romantic thing he’d always wanted to pull off…always wanted someone to pull off _for him._

_But Seungri’s always in charge, so Seungri has to pull it off, yeah? Seungri needs to plan it and put it together and pull it off and no one appreciates it as much as he would…does, as much as he does right now._

Seungri lifts his glass and Youngbae pours him just the right amount, before circling around the table to pour himself a glass. _You should pour for him, he’s older._ Youngbae raises his glass when he’s done, touching it gently to Seungri’s before they both take a sip, and Seungri is pleasantly surprised by how good it is.

He doesn’t even want to think about describing the meal, because he could never do anything like it himself, and could never do it justice. The romance of the whole evening he just…

“It’s kind of funny.” Seungri says, standing in the doorway of his own apartment again, Youngbae leaning casually against the frame. He’s much more relaxed than before, less uptight about how he _should_ act, how he _should_ present himself. “Because we started talking when you fell off the roof…”

Youngbae chuckles, cheeks going a little red, head tipping forward like he’s a little embarrassed, but also like he’s remembering this whole incident fondly. “That’s true.” He says, but doesn’t elaborate, which Seungri is kind of glad for; no mention of trying to get over his mysterious ex-girlfriend, _who you’re prettier than, remember?_

“I had a good time…” Seungri starts, because he’s never been on this end of the relationship before…never been the one being taken out and dropped back off home, even though _home_ in this case is just downstairs.

Youngbae bites his lip a little, then stands up straight, hand coming up to Seungri’s cheek. “Me too.” He says, and Seungri’s lips part just a little as his eyes close and Youngbae leans up to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “Goodnight.” Youngbae says softly, pulling away, cheeks even more red now.

Seungri likes it, likes _him._ “Goodnight.” He says, then because he doesn’t really want Youngbae to go without a promise of some kind, “I’m no good at cooking, but I’m great at restaurants.” He says, and Youngbae stops backing away to tilt his head; a soft smile playing at his lips. “Brunch? 10:00? Be on time?”

And Youngbae laughs, turning for the stairs when he’s caught his breath, pausing half-way up like he almost forgot to answer, but also like it was purposeful. “I’ll be at your door at 9:59.” He says, before disappearing up to his apartment, and into Seungri’s heart for good.


End file.
